Decorative band



Jly 18, 1939. s, F. BAUWENS DECORATIVE BAND Filed Deo. 30, 1936 NVENTOQ cfcrawens @MQW 6M@ @my C/ITTQQNB 5 Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DECORATIVE BAND Seraphine F. Bauwens, Chicago, Ill.

Application December 30, 1936, Serial No. 118,205

5 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in bands cr ribbons suitable for use as hat bands, arm bands or the like, and more particularly to bands which are ornamented with a decorative bow.Y

One object of the invention is to improve and simplify the construction of bands of the above general character to adapt them for rapid, inexpensive production.v

Another object is to provide an improved band including a decorative bow of novel form` and construction in which the various parts are secured together in an advantageous manner, without sewing or stitching, such as has heretofore been necessary.

Another object is to provide an improved decorative band embodying novel means for attaching the band to a hat or other object, which means is effective to hold the band securely in place and yet permit it to be removed quickly and easily for cleaning or replacement.

Still another object is to provide an improved fastener in the nature of a combined staple and hook particularly suitable for assembling decorative bands, which fastener, in addition to securing the various parts of the band together, may be utilized advantageously for removably attaching the band to a hat or the like.

A further object is to provide an improved hook fastener suitable for use with decorative bands and effective to hold the band in place upon a hat or the like, the fastener embodying novel gripping means by which it may be readily secured to the edge of the band and which is sub stantially concealed from View when the band is in use. Y

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the improved band attached to a hat.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a preferred form of the improved band showing the manner of securing the parts together.

Fig. 3 is a View of the band shown in Fig. 2 with the cross bar of the bow opened to show the construction of the same.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the band taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional View of the band taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective View of the improved hook fastener.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modified form of the decorative band.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the band shown in Fig. 7.

While I have shown in the accompanying drawu ing and will herein describe in detail the preferred embodiment of the invention, together with an alternative form thereof, it is to be understood that this disclosure is given for the purpose of illustrating the invention, and is not intended as a limitationof the invention to the particularconstructions disclosed, it being conl() templated that Various changes in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. 15

In the preferred form shownV in Figs. 2 to 5 of the drawing, the band comprises an elongated main body portion or fillet IE) having an orna mental bow I I at one end which serves to conceal the raw end of the band when the band is attached to a hat or the like as shown in Fig, l.

The llet III and the two loops of the bow II are preferably formed from a single piece of ribbon material by suitably folding the end portion thereof. A separate relatively short strip I2 of ribbon material is arranged about the mid-section of the bow to constitute a cross bar for same. and thus give the bow the appearance of a true bow knot.

In forming the bow I I the strip of ribbon man terial is folded reversely at I3 to provide a rearwardly extending section I4 of sufficient length to form the loops of the bow. A double fold I5 adjacent the fold I3 serves to define one loop of the bow, while the extreme end of the section I4 is folded under as at IG to define the other loop of the bow.

While the loops of the bow may be secured to the fillet of the band in any suitable manner, I prefer to employ staple fasteners for this purpose to provide for rapid and economical production and to economize in the amount of ribbon material required to provide a bow of attractive appearance. Such fasteners may be inserted rapidly and with a minimum of labor thus materially reducing production costs. Moreover, the use of staples permits the formation of one loop of the bow in a manner such that the raw end of the ribbon material is effectively concealed by the outer run of the loop, thus making it unnecessary to extend an inner run under the cross bar to conceal the end thereof. Preferably, the fasteners are anchored in narrow strips Il of fiber or other suitable material inserted in the loops of the bow which strips act as stiffeners to impart transverse rigidity to the loops and to hold the staples relatively rigid so that they may be easily pressed into the fabric of a hat or other garment.

As herein shown, ordinary staple fasteners I8 are used to secure the loop I6 to the llet. For securing the loop I5 to the fillet, however, I employ a novel fastener I9 in the form of a combined staple and hook which serves the double purpose of holding the parts together and removably securing the band to a hat or other garment. As will be seen by reference to Fig. 4, the fastener I9 is in the form of a generally U-shaped staple adapted to be inserted through the fabric of the bow and fillet. One leg of the staple is bent over substantially at right angles to clamp the parts together. The other leg is bent rearwardly at a suitable angle to enable the point to hook into the fabric of the hat and thus hold the band against endwise movement Preferably, the last mentioned leg is formed with a swaged point 20 so that the fabric is not cut by the entry of the point.

After thefloops I5and I6 of the bow are formed as above described, the bow is nished by assembling the cross bar I2v therewith. The assembling operation is an extremely simple one and consists in attaching one end of the cross bar to the band substantially midway between the loops as shown in Fig. 3, a combined hook and staple fastener I!)a being used for this purpose. The cross bar is initially arranged transversely ofthe band and the staple I9a is preferably inserted near the upper edge of the band with the hook or pointed end projecting generally upwardly at the rear of the bow. The cross bar is then wrapped around the central portion of the bow and the free end is hooked over the point of the fastener as shown in Fig. 2 to hold the bar in place. The hook may be pressed into the crown of the hat and thus serves to prevent the band from creeping upwardly from the brim of the hat.

In order to hold the central portion of the bow in its desired shape, a stiffener 2 I, similar to the stiffener I1, is secured to the band with the cross bar and is arranged to extend transversely across the band. When it is desired to forni. a bow with a relatively narrow central section which gives the bow a distinctive appearance and thus more closely simulates a true bow knot, the stiffener 2| may be made somewhat shorter than the width of the band. Before wrapping the cross bar around the band, the llet IB and intermediate portion ofthe section I4 are folded longitudinally as at 22 (see Fig. 5) to reduce the overall width of the band at this point to correspond with the length of the stiffener. This longitudinal fold may be relatively short so that the major portion thereof is covered by cross bar when the bar is hooked in place as above described. The cross bar then operates to hold the folded ribbon materially in its proper shape, assisted in this action by the stiifener 2|.

When the band and ribbon formed as above described are applied to a hat, it is desirable, of course, to position the lower edge of the bow closely adjacent the brimof the hat. This may be readily done when the band is initially applied, and thereafter the hook fastenerA I9a will serve to maintain the bow in its proper position by preventing the band from creepingk upwardly away from the rim.

It will be apparent that the bow constructed in the above manner has all ofthe advantages of a sewed bow such as that heretofore generally employed and is equally attractive in appearance. The improved construction, however, permits a more rapid production either manually or by machine. Moreover, the amount of ribbon material required for the bow is reduced substantially since the bow end of the ribbon may be concealed under the outer run of the loop and the stiifener which holds the same in place, Whereas with the sewed construction it is neces sary to leave one end of the ribbon sufciently long to extend under the cross bar and to cover therseam resulting from sewing the ribbon to the llet.

The hook fasteners I9 hereinbefore described provide convenient means for removably securing the bow end of the band to a hat or other garment. The other end of the band may be provided with a similar hook fastener 23, having its pointed end facing generally forwardly toward the bow end of the band as shown in Fig. 4. In attaching the band to a hat, for example, the fastener 23 is first hooked into the crown of the hat. The band is then carried around until the bow end overlaps the other end as shown in Fig. 4, and the points 20 are forced through the underlying portion of the band and into the crown of the hat. Thus, the band is securely held in place on the hat and yet may be quickly and easily detached for cleaning or replacement by simply disengaging the hooks.

Another feature of the invention resides in providing suitable means for holding the lower edge of the band in close relation to the brim of the hat, thus effectively preventing the band from creeping away from the brim as commonly occurs with hats having tapered crowns. This means comprises a hook fastener of simple form which may be manufactured economically from sheet metal by a simple stamping operation. In the form shown in Fig. 6 of the drawing, the improved fastener consists of a flat, generally rectangular plate 24 having its lower edge notched to form a pair of spaced lugs '25 with a sharp pointed hook element 26 disposed between the lugs. The latter element is bent rearwardly and upwardly as shown in the drawing so that it may readily be hooked into the crown of the hat when pressed inwardly and, when so placed, is effective to prevent relative upward movement of the fastener. The lugs 25 are bent forwardly and then back upon the body portion to form open channels for receiving the edge of the band. These lugs are designed to be bent back against the body portion when the band is in place and act to securely clamp the fastener to the band. Since only the extreme ends of the lugs appear on the outer side of the band, they do not, in any way, detract from the appearance of the same. Preferably, the lugs are of relatively small dimensions and therefore inconspicuous, and they may be further concealed by a coating of enamel or other finish which matches the color of the band.

'Ihe modified construction shown in Figs. 7 and 8 is particularly suitable for bands made of relatively narrow material. While the loops of the bow may be formed in the same manner as described above, I have shown an alternative arrangement wherein the main portion or fillet 3| is folded reversely at 32 to define one loop of the bow and the rearwardly extending portion is carried along the underside of the llet and again folded reversely substantially, at the mid-point 33 of the bow and carried forward 75 to extend slightly beyond the loop 32 to provide an exposed end for decorative purposes. The other loop of the bow is formed by a separate strip of ribbon material 34 having one end folded under as at 35 and attached to the fillet 3|, thus dening the other loop of the bow. The end of the strip 34 is terminated at the mid-section of the bow and this, together with the fold 33, is concealed by a cross bar 36 in the form of a suitable strip of ribbon wrapped around the central section of the bow. The cross bar and the other ribbon strips are preferably all secured together by means of a staple 31 which may be similar to the staple I8 hereinbefore described.

As in the preferred construction, the loops of the bow are provided with stiifeners 38 for imparting transverse rapidity thereto and for anchoring the fasteners. In this instance, I employ a single fastener 39 for securing each loop in place. 'Ihe fastener 39 may be similar in all respects to the fastener I9. In the case of the loop 32, the fastener is disposed longitudinally of the band with the sharp end pointed rearwardly to hold the same in place upon a hat or other garment. The fastener for the loop 35 is preferably inserted transversely of the band with the sharp or hook end pointing upwardly so as to engage the crown of the hat and prevent the band from creeping up and away from the brim of the hat. The other end of the band is likewise provided with a hook fastener 40 which is inserted longitudinally of the band with the hook pointing forwardly to enable it to cooperate with the hook 39vin holding the band in place when the band is attached to a hat or other garment as shown in Fig. 8.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the invention provides a decorative band of improved construction which is attractive in appearance and yet adapted for rapid, inexpensive production. 'Ihe improved band embodies an ornamental bow of novel form and construction, in which the various parts are secured together without sewing or stitching. The band may be quickly and easily attached to or detached from a hat for cleaning or replacement.

The novel construction contemplates the use of fastening devices of novel character which perform the combined functions of a staple and hook, the staple serving to hold the parts together and the hook operating to hold the assembled band in place upon the object to which it is attached. I likewise provide an improved hook fastener adapted to be attached to the edge of a decorative band for holding the same against creeping, the fastener being practically invisible when the band is in place.

I claim as my invention:

l. A decorative band having an ornamental bow comprising an elongated strip of ribbon material reversely folded adjacent one end to provide a rearwardly extending section of slightly greater length than the finished bow, the open end of said section being folded under to conceal the same and to define one of the loops of the bow, a double fold in said section adjacent the other end of the section defining the other loop of the bow, stiffening members disposed within said loops to impart transverse rigidity thereto, and means for permanently holding said members and said loops in place comprising staple fasteners extending through the members, the inner runs of the loops and the adjacent portions of the band.

2. The combination with a band of ribbon material, of a strip of ribbon overlying one end of the band folded to define two loops of a decorative bow, a cross-bar for said bow comprising a short strip of ribbon wrapped around the band and the first mentioned strip of ribbon intermediate said loops, means securing the opposite ends of said short strip of ribbon to said band, and a fiat stiffening member substantially shorter than the width of the band extending transversely of the band intermediate said loops and under said cross-bar, said band and the strip of ribbon forming said loops being folded longitudinally adjacent the member to correspond in width to the length thereof thereby rendering the central portion of the bow substantially narrower than the loops.

3. A hat band or the like comprising an elongated strip of ribbon material having one end folded to form the loops of a bow, a short strip of ribbon adapted to be wrapped around the central portion of the bow to constitute a cross-bar for the bow, means for securing one end of the cross-bar ribbon to said first mentioned ribbon comprising a generally U-shaped fastener extending through the ribbons and having one leg bent down to clamp the ribbons together, the other leg of the fastener being inclined upwardly and rearwardly at an angle to said one leg to form a hook for engaging the other end of the cross-bar ribbon.

4. A decorative band comprising an elongated strip of ribbon material having an ornamental bow at one end thereof, means for securing the loops of the bow to said strip and for removably attaching the band to a hat or the like, said means comprising a combined staple and hook fastener inserted in one of said loops longitudinally of said strip with the hook element facing toward the opposite end of the strip, and a combined staple and hook fastener inserted in the other of said loops transversely of said strip with the hook element facing upwardly.

5. A decorative band having an ornamental bow comprising, in combination, an elongated strip of ribbon material forming the body of the band, a section at one end of the strip folded back upon the body of the band to form the bow, the free end of said section being folded under to conceal the same and to define one of the loops of the bow, a stiffening member interposed between said rearwardly extending section and the folded end thereof to impart transverse rigidity to the loop formed thereby, and staple fasteners extending through said stiffening member, said folded end portion and the adjacent body portion of the band for permanently securing said member and said loop to said band to hold the same in place.

SERAPHINE F. BAUWENS. 

